David W Nevin
David W. Nevin (1853 – 1945) was a pivotal figure in the development of Easton and of College Hill. He was a man of boundless energy and forward thinking and his impact on the city as both a businessman and the town’s mayor can be seen to this day.
Nevin studied law at Lafayette and ended up staying in Easton after his studies ended. Acting as an agent for his Uncle, Major D.R.B Nevin, he purchased farmland to the east of Cattell street in 1887 just prior to the arrival of the first electric trolly line up College Hill in 1888. (Nevin was a principle partner in the Lafayette Traction Company as well.)
Soon after the line was completed the Paxinosa Inn was constructed by Nevin (and partners) at the summit of Weygadt Mountain to the northeast of College Hill. It was named in memory of the Shawnee tribal chief Paxinosa who sided with the British in the Indian Treaty of 1757. After the Inn’s completion, the trolley tracks were extended to the resort. The Inn was a grand affair that boasted 82 rooms and cost $100,000 to build in 1889.
Beginning in 1890, Nevin began developing a neighborhood of luxury residences in called “Paxinosa Heights, He marketed the properties as “villa sites” and soon many of the most prominent residents of Easton were living in the neighborhood. About a quarter of the 40 homes architect William M. Michler designed or renovated in College Hill are found within Paxinosa Heights, and there are a large number of outstanding Gilded Age structures throughout. The area became Easton’s first suburban enclave and still retains a turn-of-the-century charm. It is a pleasure to stroll through the quiet neighborhood and imagine what it was like 100 years ago. The district continues to attract many of Easton’s leading citizens and professionals.
Nevin designed and donated two parks to the City, Riverside Park along the Delaware and Nevin Park in College Hill.
Nevin Park became the home of the original fountain from Easton’s center square in 1899 after the erection of the soldier’s monument that stands there today. The cast iron monument no longer graces Nevin Park — it was melted down during a WWII scrap-metal drive. Nevin Park will have a fountain once more this summer when a new one is erected and placed in the empty concrete circle in the park. The College Hill Neighborhood Association spent nearly a decade raising over $100,000 to have a replacement put in. UPDATE: The fountain is finished!
Original Fountain in the Easton Center Square
Fountain at Nevin Park
Not all of Nevin’s fortunes were good. The Paxinosa Inn was never successful and was sold at sheriff’s auction in 1896. It burned to the ground in 1905, was rebuild in “fireproof” brick, and burned down again a few years later. Despite this setback, Nevin went on to become an influential leader of the Easton National Bank and to serve as the secretary and treasurer of the Easton Suspension Bridge Company.
College Hill Presbyterian Church
Nevin was a devout man who organized a group to construct the College Hill Presbyterian Church at Parsons and Broadhead. In 1886 he received a patent on an obscure “Sunday School Library Record System” that promised to easily control the borrowing of reference books. He also wrote a short history of the church in 1941.
Soon after being admitted to the Northampton County Bar, Nevin became involved in local politics serving on the town council and as representatives of the Second and Third Ward. He ultimately held the office of Mayor from 1911 to 1919 and gained a reputation for fighting to reduce the city’s omnipresent vice.
To round out the picture of perhaps Easton’s all-time leading citizen, Nevin was a fine musician who came from a musical family and had a brother and a cousin who were composers of note. (Pun intended)
House on College Hill 